One of the more interesting differences between Halicker and other games is the change from using a character sheet to using individual character cards. While there will defiantly be forms to be found online for filling in a “normal” character sheet, players have the option of using several cards to break up their characters information. The usual format of this is a card for all things relating to combat, a card for general character info including stats, a card for all equipped upgrades, mods, decorations and such, and a card for all list magical tattoos and subsequent spells and abilities. In the future we will post a picture of one of these cards for you to see, these descriptions can only do so much but bear with us. While we are talking about the combat card we can get into Halicker’s damage system.
All weapons in Halicker are capable of doing varying amounts of damage; all depending on an attackers severity roll. Basic weapons will have five levels of damage: -20, -50, 50+, 70+, 90+, Halicker uses a hundred sided die when ever possible and this includes severity rolls. So a weapons typical damage will read something like
(5, -20)(10, -50)(20, 50+) (25, 70+) (35, 90+)
For an extended description, or will read (5, 10, 20, 25, 35) for a quick description. The weapon being described here is a pretty decent tier two bastard sword, the damage is pretty consistent as you go up the levels so that marks this weapon as being Dwarven or Elvin, different races and different weapons will have different damages. Case in point a Gemagog weapon will do fairly poor damage up until the higher end of the stats, this takes into consideration the races reliance or physical strength and power, thus expecting a character who has a high enough power bonus to offset a low roll. On the other hand a H’luull weapon will be geared to do massive damage right at the start but as you go up the stats the damage will not increase all that much, this makes a H’luull weapon fairly effective but this is hampered by the fact that the H’luull material, Yawk, is much rarer than Gemagog dragon steal and much fussier to use.
In the event that a character rolls a hundred on an attack roll the resulting severity roll is doubled. A roll of two hundred or better triples the severity roll. If a character rolls a hundred or better on a severity roll what ever modification bonuses that applied to the roll are added directly to the damage, no conditional bonus or spell bonus applied.
Once hit by a weapon a character starts to take amounts of damage, the amounts is added up and subtracted from subsequent rolls until the character is healed. For example: a character takes three hits from the sword listed previous, with severity rolls of 56, 60, and 90. The resulting damage would be 20, 20, and 35. This character thus took 75 points of damage total. We subtract from this a toughness bonus that would have negated some of the damage in those three rounds. A character with 16 toughness knocks down a severity roll 16 points thus making the hits actually 40, 44, and 74, thus the damage would actually be 10, 10, and 25. Thus the real modifier would be 45 instead of 75. Now on every combat card and on every stat sheet will be a place for the total amount added to a players attack roll and severity roll, from all physical mods, magical mods, and apparatus mods. It is to these numbers you subtract from when you start to take damage. So our character has +75 and plus +50 to attack and severity respectively. after the first hit it would be +65 and +40, then +55 and +30 and finally +30 and +5. Once you get to a certain number below zero you are dead. How much so below zero and with which stat depends on race and other modifications your character may have designed.
Most of the upgrades in Halicker will have stats with “easy” numbers (Halicker uses a base 5 system for upgrade stats) so the math will never be that tricky. One last thing, while you will have to deal with your combat bonuses getting lower and eventually into negative numbers the more damage you take, magic remains unaffected by damage and you still get full bonuses no matter how much damage you take.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Druzai
One of the most physically beautiful races in all of Halicker, the Druzai are a reclusive desert race, slow to trust others in the Halicker world. Druzai look human if encountered during the day, though the race’s typical garb has each member wrapped head to toe with only the eyes visible. These eyes never seem to focus, and do not blink. During the night is when the true nature of the Druzai are revealed. In their true form Druzai look like human shaped cutouts of the night sky, black silhouettes filled with small planets, stars, and other astral bodies. In this form, to the touch a Druzai feels cold and hard, as if the black shadow was made of some kind of glass that contains its amazing cargo. In human form a Druzai is of typical human dimensions but during the shift to true form the Druzai can range from two feet to twelve feet tall and possess any width from waif-thin to obese. Despite their varying proportions, the true form a Druzai will still weigh the same as its human form.
The exact reality behind the Druzais’ amazing physical makeup is unknown. What is known is that the race refers to themselves as “Wanderers”. At death a Druzai will immediately revert to its true form and slowly begin to float skywards until it disappears from view. If asked about the nature of this event a Druzai will only answer that the recently deceased is “returning home”.
The nature of a Druzai’s body, while unusual, is still a body. If injured a Druzai will bleed shining dust, and each of the main planets which make ups its body are believed to somehow act as internal organs. Most of what happens inside of a Druzai’s body is unknown though, as once detached from its owner a Druzai limb crumbles into the same shining dust that the race bleeds. For all intents though, a Druzai acts just like a regular race.
The race still needs to eat, which they do only in true form. It should be noted that a Druzai need not sleep, though they may do so by choice. The Druzai, are capable of dreaming like humans, but furthermore, some Druzai choose to sleep in order to encourage prophetic dreams. The Druzai possess distinct genders- the females identified by a feminine demeanor, a feminine outline of the body, and a star nebula in the stomach region of the true form. The males have male qualities, a manly demeanor and male figure form. The male Druzais’ true form features a black hole in their respective abdomens. As an interesting aside, during the moment of death, a male Druzai’s internal planets are consumed by the black hole while in the females’ bodies the nebula quickly collapse into itself and flashes into a star.
During actual play a Druzai character in human form plays exactly like a human. In true form the character can take advantage of a different body shape but no stat change occurs because of the change. Druzai are a “skinless” race like the Hubris and thus may take any and all body modifications that a Hubris can. Any internal body mods taken by a Druzai transform into astral bodies whilst maintaining any combat or RP effect. A Druzai does not take the same alchemical tattoos or markings that regular races have; instead they can modify the appearance of their internal planets. How they chose to do this is up to the player to decide and the Storyteller to approve.
Druzai are the only race which may start with its race’s material: Lodestone.
Material:
Lodestone: A light weight stone, with an odd propensity to hover around its owner in tight orbits as long as its owner has a capacitor energy source (Aquian crystal, Angel core, or the equivalent). This material comes in a wide selection of earth toned colors, and is carved like stone, instead of being cast or forged like metal.
Material bonus:
The stone is both strong and light-weight, making it very useful for brawlers and cutters alike. The material’s greatest strength comes from its ability to change formation at the will of the user. A typical Lodestone apparatus is made up of several hovering plates. At rest these plates separate and hover in tight rings around the owner’s body. Once activated these stones can be called by force of will into various shapes (swords, shields, hammers) at which point the plates can be pulled out of orbit to be wielded, or their orbit can be controlled to “puppet wield” the weapon. Other materials and upgrades can be attached to Lodestone plates, thus giving more formation possibilities.
Material problem:
Lodestone is not quasi-sentient and thus grants no stat bonus. A Whisper must be spent to do every formation change and the material has a 1/100 chance to short out for 1d6 rounds after every formation change.
Lodestone cannot be traded for, the only way for a character who is not Druzai to acquire some is to either kill a Druzai, go through grueling tasks to win the races trust, or buy Lodestone from an unscrupulous black market source. Druzai seem to know the origin or every piece of Lodestone they encounter and do not look all that kindly upon people who have harmed their kindred.
The exact reality behind the Druzais’ amazing physical makeup is unknown. What is known is that the race refers to themselves as “Wanderers”. At death a Druzai will immediately revert to its true form and slowly begin to float skywards until it disappears from view. If asked about the nature of this event a Druzai will only answer that the recently deceased is “returning home”.
The nature of a Druzai’s body, while unusual, is still a body. If injured a Druzai will bleed shining dust, and each of the main planets which make ups its body are believed to somehow act as internal organs. Most of what happens inside of a Druzai’s body is unknown though, as once detached from its owner a Druzai limb crumbles into the same shining dust that the race bleeds. For all intents though, a Druzai acts just like a regular race.
The race still needs to eat, which they do only in true form. It should be noted that a Druzai need not sleep, though they may do so by choice. The Druzai, are capable of dreaming like humans, but furthermore, some Druzai choose to sleep in order to encourage prophetic dreams. The Druzai possess distinct genders- the females identified by a feminine demeanor, a feminine outline of the body, and a star nebula in the stomach region of the true form. The males have male qualities, a manly demeanor and male figure form. The male Druzais’ true form features a black hole in their respective abdomens. As an interesting aside, during the moment of death, a male Druzai’s internal planets are consumed by the black hole while in the females’ bodies the nebula quickly collapse into itself and flashes into a star.
During actual play a Druzai character in human form plays exactly like a human. In true form the character can take advantage of a different body shape but no stat change occurs because of the change. Druzai are a “skinless” race like the Hubris and thus may take any and all body modifications that a Hubris can. Any internal body mods taken by a Druzai transform into astral bodies whilst maintaining any combat or RP effect. A Druzai does not take the same alchemical tattoos or markings that regular races have; instead they can modify the appearance of their internal planets. How they chose to do this is up to the player to decide and the Storyteller to approve.
Druzai are the only race which may start with its race’s material: Lodestone.
Material:
Lodestone: A light weight stone, with an odd propensity to hover around its owner in tight orbits as long as its owner has a capacitor energy source (Aquian crystal, Angel core, or the equivalent). This material comes in a wide selection of earth toned colors, and is carved like stone, instead of being cast or forged like metal.
Material bonus:
The stone is both strong and light-weight, making it very useful for brawlers and cutters alike. The material’s greatest strength comes from its ability to change formation at the will of the user. A typical Lodestone apparatus is made up of several hovering plates. At rest these plates separate and hover in tight rings around the owner’s body. Once activated these stones can be called by force of will into various shapes (swords, shields, hammers) at which point the plates can be pulled out of orbit to be wielded, or their orbit can be controlled to “puppet wield” the weapon. Other materials and upgrades can be attached to Lodestone plates, thus giving more formation possibilities.
Material problem:
Lodestone is not quasi-sentient and thus grants no stat bonus. A Whisper must be spent to do every formation change and the material has a 1/100 chance to short out for 1d6 rounds after every formation change.
Lodestone cannot be traded for, the only way for a character who is not Druzai to acquire some is to either kill a Druzai, go through grueling tasks to win the races trust, or buy Lodestone from an unscrupulous black market source. Druzai seem to know the origin or every piece of Lodestone they encounter and do not look all that kindly upon people who have harmed their kindred.
Halicker Stats
Halicker stats are very simple.
Power: Your characters strength and the strength of your apparatus, used to determine just how hard you can hit something, weather your strong enough to use bigger items, and if you can beat an RP situation involving power (power checks).
Power modifies damage (severity) in Halicker
Flexibility: determines your characters flexibility, reflexes, and other reaction times as well as the amount of time it takes to react with an apparatus. This stat governs how much of an advantage you get in combat as well as your ability to dodge/block an attack.
Flexibility modifies attack rolls and defense rolls in Halicker
Toughness: Governs your characters stoicism and ability to withstand strain. This Stat also modifies an apparatus’s ability to run continually without overheating, breaking, or the equivalent depending on the device. Also, the bonus associated with a character’s toughness acts as penalty to an opponents damage roll.
Toughness acts as a negative modifier for an opponent’s damage roll in Halicker.
Velocity: Determines just how quickly your character can move versus other opponents and just how many times in a typical round a character can attack in a round.
Velocity modifies the roll for attack order and whether or not your character has multiple attacks in Halicker.
Beauty: Determines how attractive your character is to NPCs.
Beauty modifies the roll for seduction and modifies certain RP situations.
Your character starts out with a varying amount of highs, mids,and lows depending on the race.
A high translates to a 15+ bonus to that stat and designates that stat as one of the main stats for that character.
A mid counts for a +5 and shows that stat to be less important but still in the cards for that character.
A low counts as no bonus for that stats and tell the Storyteller that the character does not value that stat very much at all.
As you play the game you will get the chance to modify your characters body and their apparatus, these modifications will add points to certain stats and thus effect combat rolls. though it should be noted that a character must keep track as to which stat effecting modifications are from apparatus upgrades and which are form physical upgrades. The reason for this is that some upgrades are only available if a character has some many points in the physical half of a stat, some are only in the apparatus part of the stat. Of course there are some upgrades which do not care if the points are physical or apparatus as long as they are there.
The exact specifics as to weather or not a character can use a given upgrade very depending on the part, more details will be available in the book once we get it published. Did I mention that Halicker will have the biggest items list ever made? No? well, that is what we are shooting for over here...
Power: Your characters strength and the strength of your apparatus, used to determine just how hard you can hit something, weather your strong enough to use bigger items, and if you can beat an RP situation involving power (power checks).
Power modifies damage (severity) in Halicker
Flexibility: determines your characters flexibility, reflexes, and other reaction times as well as the amount of time it takes to react with an apparatus. This stat governs how much of an advantage you get in combat as well as your ability to dodge/block an attack.
Flexibility modifies attack rolls and defense rolls in Halicker
Toughness: Governs your characters stoicism and ability to withstand strain. This Stat also modifies an apparatus’s ability to run continually without overheating, breaking, or the equivalent depending on the device. Also, the bonus associated with a character’s toughness acts as penalty to an opponents damage roll.
Toughness acts as a negative modifier for an opponent’s damage roll in Halicker.
Velocity: Determines just how quickly your character can move versus other opponents and just how many times in a typical round a character can attack in a round.
Velocity modifies the roll for attack order and whether or not your character has multiple attacks in Halicker.
Beauty: Determines how attractive your character is to NPCs.
Beauty modifies the roll for seduction and modifies certain RP situations.
Your character starts out with a varying amount of highs, mids,and lows depending on the race.
A high translates to a 15+ bonus to that stat and designates that stat as one of the main stats for that character.
A mid counts for a +5 and shows that stat to be less important but still in the cards for that character.
A low counts as no bonus for that stats and tell the Storyteller that the character does not value that stat very much at all.
As you play the game you will get the chance to modify your characters body and their apparatus, these modifications will add points to certain stats and thus effect combat rolls. though it should be noted that a character must keep track as to which stat effecting modifications are from apparatus upgrades and which are form physical upgrades. The reason for this is that some upgrades are only available if a character has some many points in the physical half of a stat, some are only in the apparatus part of the stat. Of course there are some upgrades which do not care if the points are physical or apparatus as long as they are there.
The exact specifics as to weather or not a character can use a given upgrade very depending on the part, more details will be available in the book once we get it published. Did I mention that Halicker will have the biggest items list ever made? No? well, that is what we are shooting for over here...
Friday, November 21, 2008
Magic, Amended
Magic in Halicker operates very similarly to the apparatus upgrade system. A character picks certain spell effects at the start. Certain Story Tellers will require these spells to follow a theme that fits the character while others will not. These spell effects can be of any type or appearance with varying combat and RP potential. As a character plays through the game he or she will get the opportunity to upgrade these spell effects by getting alchemical components. These show up in various forms- fire stones, cockatrice feathers, golem blood etc. Once enough of these components have been found, a character can either pay an alchemist or perform the proper alchemical procedures to create spell upgrades or new spells.
Once a character has chosen his or her spells, he/she must declare a physical representation of this spell. This usually is interpreted as magical tattoos on a character’s body, but can also be represented as magical designs or decorations on an apparatus. Once a spell is upgraded, the tattoo can be developed into a more ornate design, or a character can get new tattoos; any form of body modification is allowed to show spells and upgrades, and players are encouraged to be creative when coming up with their own.
Spells require "Whispers" (a.k.a. manna) to be used. A character starts out with three, (five if you’re a Red) and you can get more Whispers by acquiring a complicated list of alchemical components. As well, a Story Teller can be nice and give a character who fancies themselves a "mage" or "wizard" more Whispers, or a few spells (free spells, or “Frells”) that are weaker but require no Whisper. Characters can upgrade regular spells to be Frells through a complicated alchemical process.
Noticing a pattern here? As mechanics is to machinery and apparatus, alchemy is to magic.
Characters who do not want to do magic themselves can enchant their apparatus so that spells emanate from the machine as a opposed to the character. This might not seem like a much of a change but certain enemies can do weird things to characters with magic tattoos or the like, and said enemies will be in the manual when I am rich enough to publish said manual.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Red
While not appearing as an unusual race, they stand as one of the more bizarre humanoid species of Halicker. Reds stand a few inches taller than the average human averaging about six feet tall. Their height is offset by the race's tendency to abhor physical labor and as a result they tend to be very skinny, appearing almost skeletal at times. This, though, is where the subtle differences between Reds and the rest of the peoples of Halicker end.
Internally, Reds are built drastically different. Red bones are built far more elastically and thus bend and heal far faster than other races. Red metabolisms work at a much faster pace. This means that the typical Red must eat far more than a human or elf of the same weight. This is usually not that much of a problem because the typical red can and will eat anything and everything that can be eaten when it is hungry.
Reds also posses a detachable lower jaw. This, combined with the flexibility of Red bones, means that a Red character can "Python" food if they so choose. The reason for the races name comes from the natural lack of color in Red skin, making it possible to see every vein and artery pulsing in a Reds body. Because members of this race are usually angry or on the verge of anger, capillary beds are usually full to bursting, causing the distinctive pallor. In terms of game play mechanics, a person playing a true Red will start off with pathetic physical stats. This is compensated for by the Red's stronger grasp on magic and by the combat potential of Red technology. A Red character must eat something equivalent to one tenth its body weight immediately before or immediately after every battle. This may mean eating the opponent; it's up to the character.
Red technology is based around the concept of mimicking magical effects, and minimizing physical movement on the part of the owner. This translates into using a great deal of remote-controlled apparati. Guns are usually fixed to masks so that the user need not move his hands, and magical support devices such as energy shields, power converters, and the like are often in use.
(Let it be known that for a materials bonuses to work an apparatus needs to be at least half constructed from said material)
Material:
Formula 14: Always appearing a brilliant bright red, Formula 14 is created through an exacting chemical process that the reds will not share even under pain of death. Other than its color 14 exhibits no other interesting feature and has the same characteristics and weight as aluminum, but what makes the material special is it ability to both “beam energy” and its ability to channel brain waves into a viable power source.
Material Bonus:
Two very interesting devices can be fashioned from Formula 14, Red “Cables” and Red “Siphons”. Devices made out of 14 do not need to be directly attached to their power source if they contain Red Cables, this only works with apparatus that are electrical, or siphoned. A character simply puts a Cable on the battery and a cable on the apparatus and the two will work together as if attached by a regular power cable. The apparatus cannot be any further than 20 feet away from the power source to work but additional cables can increase this range, adding 20 feet to every cable attached.
Apparatus made out of formula 14 can be powered on brain waves, but only if they are in direct contact with the operator, the overall weight of the apparatus dose not exceeded 100 pounds. these limits can be bent somewhat using a Red siphon, which allows a Red character to power a remote controlled apparatus as long as the control is in the character's hand and attached to a cable.
Material Problem:
Formula 14 is not a quasi-sentient material and thus grants no stat bonus. Formula 14 is also very rare and a character will have to go to great lengths to get a hold of it.
Red characters receive 5 Whispers and tier two apparatus from the start, this represents the races innate mastery of magic and the fact that most Red's are funded directly from their government.The other side of this is that a Red character starts off with 3 mids and 2 lows when deciding stat allocation at the start. A Red character can forgo the Whispers and Higher tiered apparatus for regular stats, this is representative of a Red who has gone "rouge" from the Red government and should have a much harder time getting Formula 14, Storyteller's take notice.
Internally, Reds are built drastically different. Red bones are built far more elastically and thus bend and heal far faster than other races. Red metabolisms work at a much faster pace. This means that the typical Red must eat far more than a human or elf of the same weight. This is usually not that much of a problem because the typical red can and will eat anything and everything that can be eaten when it is hungry.
Reds also posses a detachable lower jaw. This, combined with the flexibility of Red bones, means that a Red character can "Python" food if they so choose. The reason for the races name comes from the natural lack of color in Red skin, making it possible to see every vein and artery pulsing in a Reds body. Because members of this race are usually angry or on the verge of anger, capillary beds are usually full to bursting, causing the distinctive pallor. In terms of game play mechanics, a person playing a true Red will start off with pathetic physical stats. This is compensated for by the Red's stronger grasp on magic and by the combat potential of Red technology. A Red character must eat something equivalent to one tenth its body weight immediately before or immediately after every battle. This may mean eating the opponent; it's up to the character.
Red technology is based around the concept of mimicking magical effects, and minimizing physical movement on the part of the owner. This translates into using a great deal of remote-controlled apparati. Guns are usually fixed to masks so that the user need not move his hands, and magical support devices such as energy shields, power converters, and the like are often in use.
(Let it be known that for a materials bonuses to work an apparatus needs to be at least half constructed from said material)
Material:
Formula 14: Always appearing a brilliant bright red, Formula 14 is created through an exacting chemical process that the reds will not share even under pain of death. Other than its color 14 exhibits no other interesting feature and has the same characteristics and weight as aluminum, but what makes the material special is it ability to both “beam energy” and its ability to channel brain waves into a viable power source.
Material Bonus:
Two very interesting devices can be fashioned from Formula 14, Red “Cables” and Red “Siphons”. Devices made out of 14 do not need to be directly attached to their power source if they contain Red Cables, this only works with apparatus that are electrical, or siphoned. A character simply puts a Cable on the battery and a cable on the apparatus and the two will work together as if attached by a regular power cable. The apparatus cannot be any further than 20 feet away from the power source to work but additional cables can increase this range, adding 20 feet to every cable attached.
Apparatus made out of formula 14 can be powered on brain waves, but only if they are in direct contact with the operator, the overall weight of the apparatus dose not exceeded 100 pounds. these limits can be bent somewhat using a Red siphon, which allows a Red character to power a remote controlled apparatus as long as the control is in the character's hand and attached to a cable.
Material Problem:
Formula 14 is not a quasi-sentient material and thus grants no stat bonus. Formula 14 is also very rare and a character will have to go to great lengths to get a hold of it.
Red characters receive 5 Whispers and tier two apparatus from the start, this represents the races innate mastery of magic and the fact that most Red's are funded directly from their government.The other side of this is that a Red character starts off with 3 mids and 2 lows when deciding stat allocation at the start. A Red character can forgo the Whispers and Higher tiered apparatus for regular stats, this is representative of a Red who has gone "rouge" from the Red government and should have a much harder time getting Formula 14, Storyteller's take notice.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Magic
From what you have seen so far Halicker has many races to choose from, but this is just the start of your choices. Your machinery comes next which again allows you for any number of combinations, but truly the most free form part of Halicker is the magic. Unlike other system Halicker allows for complete free form creation of how your characters individual magical properties will work. It should be noted though that while a character is only allowed one kind of spell effects at the start, an apparatus can be enchanted with any different number of spell effects, but all of these effects must be bought or found individually and placed the apparatus, only a character can develop magic without buying upgrades, machines cant learn after all.
What you do is decided on what you would like your characters magic to look like, fire, water, cheese, what ever it may be. From there decided on what you would like for spells, this is done by first deciding a spells effect, blast, break, freeze, anyone of the thousands of effects. After this your ST will decided initial damage of this spells and the effect of RP properties, burning, freezing, being covered in melted gouda and the like. Characters start the game with a number of "casts" which translates to spells, or feats, or any number of special abilities which are not achieved by your characters machinery by normal means, the amount of casts you start out with is usually 4 but characters who decided to rely more on magic than machinery can have several more to compensate, or they can have "free spells" which are just what they sound like, a spell which is weaker than regular but is free, it is all up to you ST and how much you can beg them to be generous.
Spells need also not only come from your character, you apparatus can be enchanted as well and your character can choose to use their daily casts to power what are called an "overdrive" on the apparatus. an Overdrive is a massive attack or the like done by your apparatus which pushes said apparatus abilities to the edge: nitros for vehicles, holding the trigger for long times on machine guns, cutting someone in half with a buzz sword and the like. some apparatus upgrades may require that a a cast be spent as well, such as under-slung grenade launchers for carbines, electrical stunners for grappling hooks, and so on.
To upgrade magic is another story. Spell effects such as blast or projectile can be learned from someone who already knows how to do said spell. Magic vender's will have basic spell effects as well as lower tiered spell components for sale, though these tend to be very expensive. More advanced magic effects can be learned from scholars though they will not do this for cheap if they do so at all, or can be researched by the character by spending time delving into the characters particular pathway, weather this means taking a drug induced sight journey to visit a characters dead elders, or by spending hours burning oils and watching dragons to unlock the mysteries of fire. The root to advancement you character will eventually take should be discussed by the ST with their players and can and should be an area of RP involvement between characters and ST, there is no wrong way to go about it and the ST should come up with a way which allows for the most enjoyment and creativity on the part of the players. Just don't be a tyrant.
For my games I translate spell effects and the like into body marks and tattoos if they are going to be used as a spell, and decorations and paint jobs if they are going to be used as an apparatus upgrade. For an example I had my character run into an enemy who used lightning magic, when he was killed the party received two "lightning stones" since no one used lightning magic in the game these stones could only be used as apparatus upgrades, one character combined these stones with a spoil of copper wire, a dagger, a spring and a free cast telekinesis to create a lightning grapple. Another character, Billi, placed one of the stones between the barrels of her gatling gun, by spending a cast she could then use the barrels of her gun to generate a charge which she could then fire through the stones out of the middle of her gun. These are examples of how you could do it, and there will be many to come in the future, but in the end it is up to you.
What you do is decided on what you would like your characters magic to look like, fire, water, cheese, what ever it may be. From there decided on what you would like for spells, this is done by first deciding a spells effect, blast, break, freeze, anyone of the thousands of effects. After this your ST will decided initial damage of this spells and the effect of RP properties, burning, freezing, being covered in melted gouda and the like. Characters start the game with a number of "casts" which translates to spells, or feats, or any number of special abilities which are not achieved by your characters machinery by normal means, the amount of casts you start out with is usually 4 but characters who decided to rely more on magic than machinery can have several more to compensate, or they can have "free spells" which are just what they sound like, a spell which is weaker than regular but is free, it is all up to you ST and how much you can beg them to be generous.
Spells need also not only come from your character, you apparatus can be enchanted as well and your character can choose to use their daily casts to power what are called an "overdrive" on the apparatus. an Overdrive is a massive attack or the like done by your apparatus which pushes said apparatus abilities to the edge: nitros for vehicles, holding the trigger for long times on machine guns, cutting someone in half with a buzz sword and the like. some apparatus upgrades may require that a a cast be spent as well, such as under-slung grenade launchers for carbines, electrical stunners for grappling hooks, and so on.
To upgrade magic is another story. Spell effects such as blast or projectile can be learned from someone who already knows how to do said spell. Magic vender's will have basic spell effects as well as lower tiered spell components for sale, though these tend to be very expensive. More advanced magic effects can be learned from scholars though they will not do this for cheap if they do so at all, or can be researched by the character by spending time delving into the characters particular pathway, weather this means taking a drug induced sight journey to visit a characters dead elders, or by spending hours burning oils and watching dragons to unlock the mysteries of fire. The root to advancement you character will eventually take should be discussed by the ST with their players and can and should be an area of RP involvement between characters and ST, there is no wrong way to go about it and the ST should come up with a way which allows for the most enjoyment and creativity on the part of the players. Just don't be a tyrant.
For my games I translate spell effects and the like into body marks and tattoos if they are going to be used as a spell, and decorations and paint jobs if they are going to be used as an apparatus upgrade. For an example I had my character run into an enemy who used lightning magic, when he was killed the party received two "lightning stones" since no one used lightning magic in the game these stones could only be used as apparatus upgrades, one character combined these stones with a spoil of copper wire, a dagger, a spring and a free cast telekinesis to create a lightning grapple. Another character, Billi, placed one of the stones between the barrels of her gatling gun, by spending a cast she could then use the barrels of her gun to generate a charge which she could then fire through the stones out of the middle of her gun. These are examples of how you could do it, and there will be many to come in the future, but in the end it is up to you.
H'luull
One of the most bizarre races available for characters to play, the H'luull make up the last of the bigger races. though to call the H'luull a big races is slightly a misnomer because by itself a single H'luull is a tiny aquatic creature that looks like something dredged up from the ocean floor, a writhing mass of tentacles and gnashing teeth. Though the likelihood of encountering a H'luull by itself is negligible, due to the fact that the H'luull have a fondness for large war-mechs and are rarely encountered without one. What this translates too is that any player who wishes to play a H'luull is allowed to take a free war mech with the equivalent strength to any of the alpha-suits, the ony stipulation being that somehow the H'luull inside must be able to see out and that the suit be constantly filled with salt water. Of all the races on Halicker the H'lull are probably the most greedy and self serving, having no political affiliation and choosing no side between the courts or the R.O.M..
H'lull "cities" are located in massive underwater caverns and are usually constructed half submerged and half dry, this is to allow for the foundries and factories which allow for H'lull industry. The goal of the race is very simple in concept, the utter domination of all under sea resources and any individual H'luull will do whatever it takes to further this notion, even temporarily allying itself with the H'luull's long time enemies the Aquians. When forced to deal with other races H'luull display incredible intelligance and most H'luull are very will educated in the ways of the other races, though they are very easy to anger and quick to resolve matters using violence. Along with their ever present war-suits, H'luull also favor weapons which allow for massive initial destruction no matter how long the recharge or recovery period might be. As a result H'luull prefer large multi-barreled rifles, massive melee weapons, enormous cannons and sige equipment and so forth, all of which take multiple rounds to recover from or reload.
H'luull technology revolves around the ideals of massive strength and damage, must apparatus manufactured by the H'luull is simply too big to be even carried by anyone of normal size. H'luull engines and power sources tend to take advantage of either the H'luull's natural electricity of the charge that comes naturally from the races material Yawk. typically one H'luull own's and runs one mech, though the richer H'luull may have a mech which has places for several subordinate H'luulls to run separate parts of the machine. H'luull have a strange obsession with death and corpses, as a result of this there decorations tend to be morbid and ghoulish, though it should be noted that the H'luull are generally aware enough of other races to remove whatever bits of dead or rotting material they may have adorned themselves with before conversing with said other races.
Material:
Material Bonus:
Material Problem:
H'lull "cities" are located in massive underwater caverns and are usually constructed half submerged and half dry, this is to allow for the foundries and factories which allow for H'lull industry. The goal of the race is very simple in concept, the utter domination of all under sea resources and any individual H'luull will do whatever it takes to further this notion, even temporarily allying itself with the H'luull's long time enemies the Aquians. When forced to deal with other races H'luull display incredible intelligance and most H'luull are very will educated in the ways of the other races, though they are very easy to anger and quick to resolve matters using violence. Along with their ever present war-suits, H'luull also favor weapons which allow for massive initial destruction no matter how long the recharge or recovery period might be. As a result H'luull prefer large multi-barreled rifles, massive melee weapons, enormous cannons and sige equipment and so forth, all of which take multiple rounds to recover from or reload.
H'luull technology revolves around the ideals of massive strength and damage, must apparatus manufactured by the H'luull is simply too big to be even carried by anyone of normal size. H'luull engines and power sources tend to take advantage of either the H'luull's natural electricity of the charge that comes naturally from the races material Yawk. typically one H'luull own's and runs one mech, though the richer H'luull may have a mech which has places for several subordinate H'luulls to run separate parts of the machine. H'luull have a strange obsession with death and corpses, as a result of this there decorations tend to be morbid and ghoulish, though it should be noted that the H'luull are generally aware enough of other races to remove whatever bits of dead or rotting material they may have adorned themselves with before conversing with said other races.
Material:
Yawk: Ranging in color from cobalt blues to tarnished greens and yellows, Yawk is a metal found only in the depths of undersea thermal vents by the H’luull and forms the basses for the races machinery. Yawk is famous for its foul smell, for while its surface may appear smooth; Yawk is by nature full of small pits and holes wherein any number of bacteria and small creatures can and do live. As a result Yawk typically looks and smells like low tide.
Material Bonus:
Due to its undersea origin, Yawk is completely unaffected by water and water based attacks such as ice and the like. Added to this the fact that Yawk comes directly from the bubbling caldron of deep sea thermal vents, Yawk is also fairly impervious to heat and heat based attacks (halves opponents sever roll).
Probably Yawk’s most impressive feature though, is the fact that all Yawk somehow contains a permanent electrical charge, it is not known if this is due to some alchemical tampering of the H’luull or perhaps to the many parasites that inhabit its surface.
Material Problem:
Similar to Dragon steal, Yawk is semi-intelligent, and will only work for an owner that has a streangth bonus of 25 or over. As well, Yawk will only work as long as it can remain somewhat damp, as a result that character must douse the metal in water (need not be salty) at least once a day and once more before any cast apparatus ability is used.
Dolor
The secound of the three big races in Halicker, the dolor are your classic big ugly brutes. Wholly devoted to the armies of madness and the demon courts, the biggest dolor cities reside in the extreme northern and southern regions of the world, though other communities can also be found in other desolate areas around the globe. Dolor are not an unintelligent race all things considered but the common Dolor mindset is one that has inclination toward creature comfort or personal pain. As a result they simply cannot fathom the suffering of others and so come across as cruel and coarse. Dolor cities are ugly constructions of mad industrialization, full of bellowing furnaces, jagged buildings and piled garbage and thousands upon thousands of weapons.
Constantly at war with the Gemagog for minerals, the aquians for oil, and the R.O.M. for land, dolor culture revolves around war and strength. Their technology is similar to the Gemagog in how it takes for granted great strength in the user, though this is where the similarities end. Dolor care only with effectiveness, style, deft, and other matters like these are considered useless. As a result Dolor technology tends to be rather old fashioned compared to modern weapons, relying mostly on steam power derived from coal furnaces. Dolor use all manner of weapons but prefer heavy hitting firearms, and colossal two handed weapons, Dolor cutters are very, very rare. Dolor cities are run by a single boss who achives his position by shear brute force.
Constantly at war with the Gemagog for minerals, the aquians for oil, and the R.O.M. for land, dolor culture revolves around war and strength. Their technology is similar to the Gemagog in how it takes for granted great strength in the user, though this is where the similarities end. Dolor care only with effectiveness, style, deft, and other matters like these are considered useless. As a result Dolor technology tends to be rather old fashioned compared to modern weapons, relying mostly on steam power derived from coal furnaces. Dolor use all manner of weapons but prefer heavy hitting firearms, and colossal two handed weapons, Dolor cutters are very, very rare. Dolor cities are run by a single boss who achives his position by shear brute force.
Material:
Sorrow Steel: This metal is a super heavy material with the same color and weight of lead though without the latter’s softness and inability to spark. Sorrow steal is mined in the far north and is rumored to be made from specific cauldrons of molten lava known only to Dolor clan heads. This material is hard to work with, and thus tends to be made into the simplest possible shapes in order to meet the needs of the apparatus, and thus all Sorrow steal items must appear crude and hulking.
Material bonus:
Sorrow steal is famous for being hard to damage, thus apparatus made from this material automatically get a roll to save against damage even if the situation would demand otherwise.
A quasi-sentient material, sorrow steal imparts a 5-15 point bonus to stamina
Material problem:
Other than its pure ugliness, Sorrow steal cannot be made into any items that require deft movement or agility. Sorrow steal is another quasi-sentient material and will only work for an owner who has a 25+ stamina bonus.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Gemagog
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Probably my favorite race avalable for use as pc are these big oafs. Gemagog's are descendants of angels and giants, they don't often talk about this unusual heritage and instead choose to act and live as mortals. Probably the most distinguishing feature of a Gemagog is their size, usually standing between 10 and 14 feet tall. A mountain dwelling people by nature, Gemagogs live in the northern and southern reaches of the Halicker worlds, boarding the lands of the Dolor in the north and the oil fields of the Reds in the south. Gemagogs live in a three tier system made of workers and businessmen, religious leaders and clergy, and soldiers. The heads of these three tiers make up the Gemagog triumvirate and rule over Gemagog politics.
Due to the substantial wealth mined from their mountains, the Gog's have been able to fund many public works and own many important companies. Most of Halicker's main transport, the Magus train and rail systems, are owned by Gog families.
Gog weaponry tends to be very big to match the size of it's owners, what is more, gog technology takes for granted the users strength, providing no mechanical assistance where it is not necessary. As a result of this Gemagog technology has very high strength requirements. What is more, the Gog people tend to be a very defensive minded people, tending to shy away from explosives, heavy attack vehicles, and the like. They instead prefer close rang weaponry, close range firearms such as shotguns, and armor as heavy as they can afford. The designs on these weapons tend to follow industrial patterns for workers gear, Celtic, Norse, or heavy metal patterns for the soldiers, or anglo religious themes for the religious types.
Material:
Dragon Steal: A beautiful material which can range from earthy reds to oranges, it is relatively light weight for its strength and can easily be forged into many shapes, and is considered a “joy to work with”. The Gemagog own most of the mines where Dragon Steal is found, the steal plays a big role in Gemagog lore and to own any is a mark of prestige.
Material bonus:
Dragon steal forms only in areas of strong elemental magic, magic believed to have been carried into the earth by the blood of mighty dragons slain by Gog warriors. As a result of this, Dragon steal imparts in its owner with great strength (anywhere from 5-15 bonus to strength).
Material problem:
While it imparts strength, the odd quasi-sentience of the metal will refuse to comply with any owner under a 25 strength bonus. Furthermore, the metal comes with great ego, and will not operate if it is not both the main apparatus of the owner and if it is not richly decorated.
next week : Dolor
p.s. the Corscanti section will be delayed for a few weeks
p.p.s the pictures of the Gemagog here are of Aladar Brom, who just happens to be Nav's character, take a look at his blog for more details.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
MORE SKETCHES!
Sorry that took so long, but here they are. A winged human female and another sketch of Lavant the Aquain, from back before he earned himself four arms.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Fun for Everyone
If there is one thing that a game really needs to do these days is be fun for the Storyteller as well as for the players. We want to offer this with Halicker and will do so in various ways. For starters you will never get a full "map" of the Halicker lands, we will start you off with a general map of certain areas and maybe show how they could connect to each other but for certain there are going to be some pretty big gaps all over the place. Guess what me dear friends, those gaps are not there by accident, I want storytellers (ST's) to feel that they can make up anything they want in terms of countries and cities of their own. ST's coming up with their own versions of things is a pretty big theme here at Halicker and I will encourage it as much as I can. All the races you see here are examples, just starting places, what and where your own story goes is up to you and I would love to see peoples own ideas and drawings for races eventually, who knows? You might even see them published. Other ways that Halicker will be people friendly is how all the combat and RP systems are set up, to simplify it slightly, you buy effects and end results then find the magic or the machine to meet said goal. This might not make sense at the moment but I will explain in time (and in the book) for starters lets us just pretend to be listening in on a game just starting up shall we?
Player: so I can eventually have anything I want?
ST: yup, might take a while but in the end yes.
Player: soooooo, if I want to be a gigantic half dragon dude with a flame thrower and rocket pack.....?
ST:......eventually you could have that but the way I chose to play it I will start you off pretty plain, though you could play a pretty big guy right off the bat, either a Dolor or a Gemagog.
Player: what is the difference?
ST: Gemagogs are more gianty-norsey-celticy while Dolor are more ogery-Attila the hun...y-fee fi foo fummy. There technology is different too.
Player: I want to be a more majestic dragon dude, so lets go with Gemagog.
ST: alright, a flame thrower is a pretty heavy duty weapon, so lets start you off with something a touch smaller, you could have a big blowtorch, or a shotgun that can shoot flame rounds, maybe a smaller version of a Dolor steam spigot.
Player: defiantly blowtorch, now how about the dragon thing?
ST: well, you could either use alchemy to transform you skin to scales little by little using defensive alchemy...stuff, or you could get enough money to have a hubris body modifier to start futzing around with you, or I could create a legend of the Gemagog's that says they have an ancient journey for warriors that eventually rewards them by turning them into part dragons...its up to you.
ain't it the truth? Its all up to you and your crew to figure out which way you want to play Halicker, hack-and-slash to deep plotted political intrigue, whatever you want.
and for an example of Character development, take a look at my friend Kate's page devoted to our favorite Hubris gunbunny: Billie
Player: so I can eventually have anything I want?
ST: yup, might take a while but in the end yes.
Player: soooooo, if I want to be a gigantic half dragon dude with a flame thrower and rocket pack.....?
ST:......eventually you could have that but the way I chose to play it I will start you off pretty plain, though you could play a pretty big guy right off the bat, either a Dolor or a Gemagog.
Player: what is the difference?
ST: Gemagogs are more gianty-norsey-celticy while Dolor are more ogery-Attila the hun...y-fee fi foo fummy. There technology is different too.
Player: I want to be a more majestic dragon dude, so lets go with Gemagog.
ST: alright, a flame thrower is a pretty heavy duty weapon, so lets start you off with something a touch smaller, you could have a big blowtorch, or a shotgun that can shoot flame rounds, maybe a smaller version of a Dolor steam spigot.
Player: defiantly blowtorch, now how about the dragon thing?
ST: well, you could either use alchemy to transform you skin to scales little by little using defensive alchemy...stuff, or you could get enough money to have a hubris body modifier to start futzing around with you, or I could create a legend of the Gemagog's that says they have an ancient journey for warriors that eventually rewards them by turning them into part dragons...its up to you.
ain't it the truth? Its all up to you and your crew to figure out which way you want to play Halicker, hack-and-slash to deep plotted political intrigue, whatever you want.
and for an example of Character development, take a look at my friend Kate's page devoted to our favorite Hubris gunbunny: Billie
Saturday, June 28, 2008
You can have almost everything...
Every picture posted with the exceptions of angels and demons are depictions of what could be playable characters and available devices and apparati. Any machine is possible in this game, all it takes is the right combinations of materials and technologies. If you want it you can build it.you can be this guy here. He is just a human, all be it a rather large one. his armor is something called a Gamma suit, which is as you can see a big motorized suit of armor with weapon systems. The illustrator is currently working on a better picture of him, which I will post when he is done. This guy is actually not very high level, his armor is expensive but nothing is rather hard to find, and nothing is made of any of the wonderful technologies available. For all intents and purposes, this guy is boring, think about it. This is a good example of what is called a industrial character type, also called an INDO, Halicker has no real classes so to say you just build the way you want, but that being said if you want a massive arm mounted cannon you are going to need some gear to balance it out and compensate for its kick. This is easier to do for guys like this one in a ton of metal than say someone who is wearing just dress clothes and a hat. someone with a knife dispenser in his coat, someone who maybe looks a bit like a dog/human hybrid...
Angels
Material:
Next race: Corscanty
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Aquian
The Aquian race is a an aquatic race of fish people with a militaristic government and a strict military culture. Constantly at war with the Reds, the Aquians have never know peace as both peoples have been constantly vying for control of off shore oil wells. Physical description: Aquians can come in many forms, but all roughly follow the same concept, the better parts of a human combines with the better parts of any kind of fish. It is left up to the designer just how much of each they want there character to follow, but all Aquian have two legs, to arms, head and tail.Stat effects: Aquian's come with a natural +5 speed bonus, the abilities to breath water, and are immune to gas based attacks. Political ties: Aquians are allied with the Humans and Sylvan. They are still friendly with all other races of the Republic of Men (ROM) though they tend to distrust Hubris and Gemegog. Main rival: Reds
Material:
Aquian crystal: A crystalline material which is mined from deep undersea vents, it can come in any color and can be carved into most shapes, though traditionally Aquian apparati keep a more “raw” crystalline shape in order to act as a reminder of where the material came from, and thus, of home.
Material bonus:
Material acts a capacitor, strengthening one apparatus effect, which translates to a 5 to 15 bonus to flexability. Aquian crystal may also absorb any energy-based attack cast at the owner (1-20 chance) this absor bed attack can then be used to re-charge one of the owner’s daily casts.
M aterial problem: Aquian crystal is excellent at keeping very high levels of energy, though it can be unstable when hit directly. In the event of an epic fail the material will discharge its stored energy harmlessly into the air, but
this renders the material useless for 1d4 rounds.
Next Week: Angels
what I am offering
Halicker is a game about stuff. This might not sound all that interesting but if you take a good long look at every other game in creation you will notice that they are also just about stuff. It all boils down to gear and spells and stats and points and this and that and in the end the one who has the highest amount of everything is the guy who is going to rule combat and break the game.
Halicker is a little different, this game has a steam punk origin but I have watched as it has evolved into its own creature with its own take on things, let me give you a better idea.
Have you ever met someone who talked to their car?
referred to their computer as if it was a real person?
what if they were right? what if all the idiosyncrasies of machines were due to the fact that they really had personalities? This was the concept I was playing with when I started designing Halicker, to this end the game becomes how your character synthesis themselves with the machinery available in the world and believe you me there is enough to go around. Halicker is a world that abounds with steam power computers, flesh crafted guns, plant crafted swords, the list goes on and on, in the end the only real limit to what you can build is your own imagination.
if you want it, you can build it
that is a promise I make to you now. All it takes is the right combinations of items and components and your characters can have everything from planes to motorcycles, machine guns to magic saxophones. We haven't even gotten to the magic yet...
this week, I will profile the Aquians
Halicker is a little different, this game has a steam punk origin but I have watched as it has evolved into its own creature with its own take on things, let me give you a better idea.
Have you ever met someone who talked to their car?
referred to their computer as if it was a real person?
what if they were right? what if all the idiosyncrasies of machines were due to the fact that they really had personalities? This was the concept I was playing with when I started designing Halicker, to this end the game becomes how your character synthesis themselves with the machinery available in the world and believe you me there is enough to go around. Halicker is a world that abounds with steam power computers, flesh crafted guns, plant crafted swords, the list goes on and on, in the end the only real limit to what you can build is your own imagination.
if you want it, you can build it
that is a promise I make to you now. All it takes is the right combinations of items and components and your characters can have everything from planes to motorcycles, machine guns to magic saxophones. We haven't even gotten to the magic yet...
this week, I will profile the Aquians
Welcome
I am Chester Yazwinski
I am the creator and lead designer of what will be the Halicker series of pen and paper role playing games. I have been working on this game for many years and I am very glad to say that soon we will be able to offer it to you the lovely people of the world. I have been helped along the way by many great people, most of whom you will hear about as we go dear friends, but for now I can say this: Halicker will be unlike anything you have played before, 10+ races with unique stories, abilities and powers, 10+ different technology systems that allow for near endless creativity in weapon and equipment designs based completely on the whims and wants of the characters, a free form magic system, and much much more.
I am Chester Yazwinski
and I want to share my world with all of you.
I am the creator and lead designer of what will be the Halicker series of pen and paper role playing games. I have been working on this game for many years and I am very glad to say that soon we will be able to offer it to you the lovely people of the world. I have been helped along the way by many great people, most of whom you will hear about as we go dear friends, but for now I can say this: Halicker will be unlike anything you have played before, 10+ races with unique stories, abilities and powers, 10+ different technology systems that allow for near endless creativity in weapon and equipment designs based completely on the whims and wants of the characters, a free form magic system, and much much more.
I am Chester Yazwinski
and I want to share my world with all of you.
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